Pages

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Valencia looking to quit on its F1 contract

According to reports in Spanish publication Diario Sport, Valencia is looking to cancel its contract to host the Formula 1 races around its street circuit from the 2014 season onwards. The exit clauses available to the organisers will see them poorer by 33 million Euros if they decide to quit Formula One two years earlier than the end of their contract. The cost of actually hosting the event for 2014 would be 27 million Euros.

The previous president of Valencia, Francisco Camps, signed a contract extention for the race two days before his resignation, leaving the people and the new government with a drag on their economy that they could do without.Current Valencia president Alberto Fabra is determined to correct the impractical decision of hosting a Grand Prix in the current economic climate, that he inherited from his predecessor and has cost a fortune to the exchequer. He is reportedly doing his best in talks with F1 boss Bernie, to try and soften the financial blow they are expected to face for liquidating the agreement

Many circuits that are trying to manage the recession by coming to agreements to alternate their events with neighbouring circuits. The Nurburgring and Hockenheim alternate to host the German Grand Prix, and most expected the Spanish Grand Prix to also work out a deal of the sort between Barcelona and Valencia.

But with that option seeming out of the window it doesn't seem likely that we will see the European or Spanish Grands Prix being held around the street circuit of Valencia.